Virgin Galactic presents VSS Unity spacecraft for sub-orbital travel

Virgin Galactic has unveiled a new spaceship just over year after that craft’s predecessor crashed during a test flight, killing one of its two pilots.

In a press release about the new spacecraft, Virgin Galactic said it was committed to thorough testing, and that it’s not in a “race”. Then will come glide tests, which see the craft fly from a height of 45,000 feet down to the ground.

Every day brings us all closer to the moment travelers become astronauts-that is, if billionaire entrepreneurs like Virgin CEO Richard Branson have their way.

“Now it’s ‘we’re doing it, ‘ and we are fully responsible for everything”, William Pomerantz, Virgin Galactic Vice President for Special Projects, told Mashable.

The new SpaceShipTwo’s arrival signals a return to testing for Virgin Galactic, after it tragically lost pilot Michael Alsbury during a test flight in 2014.

Even famous astrophysicists Stephen Hawking was part of the launch as his voice was heard over the background as the brand-new commercial spaceship called VSS Unity was revealed.

It will cost a rather pricey 250,000 United States dollars but it is a trip which is the stuff of childhood dreams offering a chance to take thrill-seekers into space.

Ahead of Friday’s unveil, Virgin Galactic pledged meticulous testing of new safety requirements for VSS Unity.

He said: “A man with the vision and persistence to open up space flight for ordinary, earth-bound citizens, Richard Branson made it his mission to make space flight a reality for those intrepid enough to venture beyond the boundaries of the earth’s atmosphere”.

“Clearly, champagne would be inappropriate, [although] it never did me any harm, and certainly hasn’t done my wife any harm, so do we have any milk?” asked Branson, who soon after watched on as Eva-Deia, helped by her mother and father, smashed the milk bottle across the nose of the newly-named spaceship. In 2010, Branson said SpaceShipTwo was “18 months away from taking people into space”. “We’ll do so quickly, but we won’t cut corners”, a statement reads. The flight experience will feature an air launch followed by a rocket-powered ascent at three and a half times the speed of sound, the silence of space, several minutes of out-of-seat weightlessness and views of earth. “No one is more eager than us to complete those milestones – nor to share this journey, with all its challenges and triumphs, with a global public that craves inspiring and ambitious stories to balance out the daily barrage of the 24-hour news cycle”.

“The fact that more people have signed up to experience space with Virgin Galactic than have ever been to space before is thrilling”, remarked Whitesides.